U.S. patent application number 13/119855 was filed with the patent office on 2011-12-01 for assembly for generating electrical and thermal energy.
Invention is credited to Franco Anzioso, Giovanni Barba.
Application Number | 20110291410 13/119855 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40314170 |
Filed Date | 2011-12-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110291410 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Anzioso; Franco ; et
al. |
December 1, 2011 |
ASSEMBLY FOR GENERATING ELECTRICAL AND THERMAL ENERGY
Abstract
An assembly for generating electrical and thermal energy has a
structure that supports a cogeneration device provided with a
combustion engine supplied with fuel, an electric generator driven
by the combustion engine, and at least one heat exchanger to heat a
fluid for a thermal appliance using the heat produced by the
combustion engine; the assembly also has a plurality of storage
batteries, which guarantee the continuity of the flow of electrical
energy during start-up of the electric generator and during load
transients and are housed in a base of the structure.
Inventors: |
Anzioso; Franco; (Orbassano,
IT) ; Barba; Giovanni; (Orbassano, IT) |
Family ID: |
40314170 |
Appl. No.: |
13/119855 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
September 17, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP09/62058 |
371 Date: |
August 17, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
290/2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01M 50/20 20210101;
Y02T 10/12 20130101; Y02E 60/10 20130101; F02G 5/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
290/2 |
International
Class: |
H02K 7/18 20060101
H02K007/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 19, 2008 |
EP |
08425614.8 |
Claims
1. Assembly for generating electrical and thermal energy,
comprising: a supporting structure; a cogeneration device carried
by said supporting structure and comprising: (a) a combustion
engine supplied with fuel; (b) an electric generator driven by said
combustion engine; (c) at least one heat exchanger to heat a fluid
for a thermal appliance using the heat produced by said combustion
engine; electrical energy storage means to guarantee the continuity
of the electrical power supply during start-up of said electric
generator and during load transients; characterized in that: said
supporting structure resting on a floor, and a compartment on top
of said base; said cogeneration device is housed in said
compartment; said electrical energy storage means are housed in
said base.
2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterised by also comprising:
an electronic converter; a cabinet housing said electronic
converter and arranged at a side of said supporting structure; and
electrical contacts arranged in fixed position inside said base and
connected to cables that carry the electrical energy towards said
side, to enable the electrical connection between said electrical
energy storage means to said electronic converter.
3. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said
electrical energy storage means comprise storage batteries housed
in a plurality of compartments that can be disconnected
independently of one another.
4. Assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that said
storage batteries are arranged in a plurality of drawers that can
be extracted from said base.
5. Assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that the
electrical connection between said drawers and said base is
automatically disconnected when the drawers are extracted.
6. Assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that said
drawers are provided with aeration apertures.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an assembly for generating
electrical and thermal energy, generally referred to as a
cogeneration assembly, or a trigeneration assembly if the thermal
energy can be produced in two usable forms, namely high-temperature
energy which can be used for example for heating and/or for
services, and low-temperature energy which can be used for example
for air-conditioning rooms and/or services.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] EP1881177 describes a modular power generation assembly
comprising a main cogeneration module, which can be supplied with
fuel and is able to generate electrical energy for user appliances,
connected in parallel to an external electrical power network or
operating in isolation.
[0003] The main module also generates thermal energy in the form of
a flow of hot water. The thermal energy produced by the main module
can supply an auxiliary module able to supply thermal energy at a
lower temperature, in the form of a flow of a chilled fluid.
[0004] The main module comprises: an electrical energy generation
assembly, consisting of an internal combustion engine coupled to an
alternating-current rotary electric generator; a heat exchanger
coupled to the internal combustion engine; and an electronic
converter unit which, in turn, comprises: [0005] an ac/dc converter
connected to the output of the electric generator; [0006] a dc/ac
converter connected, on one side, to the electrical output terminal
of the main module via a filter and, on the other side, to the
output of the ac/dc converter via a dc link, and [0007] an
electrical energy storage module coupled to the dc link via a
bi-directional dc/dc converter, which allows a flow of electrical
energy from the storage module to the dc link and vice versa.
[0008] The main module and auxiliary module are managed according
to predefined procedures by a control unit. Said control unit is
able to detect an interruption in the service of the external
electrical power network, and ensure the continuity of electrical
power supply to the user appliances, with electrical energy
supplied by the storage module for long enough to start the
electrical energy generation assembly.
[0009] Moreover, the control unit is preset to implement a function
involving elimination or "smoothing" of the voltage "drops" by
means of continual analysis of the value of the output voltage and
drawing, as required, power from the electrical energy storage
module, which is used as a buffer.
[0010] In other words, the electrical energy storage module ensures
the continuity of the power supply during start-up of the
electrical energy generation assembly and during the inevitable
load transients.
[0011] In practice, the electrical energy storage module is defined
by storage batteries that are arranged in separate rooms some
distance from the other components of the electronic converter and
are connected to said components by means of high voltage cables
(approx. 600 V).
[0012] This solution is not satisfactory, with regard to overall
dimensions and ease of maintenance, due to the distance between the
batteries and the other components of the main module, and with
regard to safety, due to the presence of high-voltage cables around
said main module.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
[0013] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an
assembly for generating electrical and thermal energy, which
overcomes the drawbacks described above in a simple and
cost-effective manner.
[0014] According to the present invention there is provided an
assembly for generating electrical and thermal energy, comprising:
[0015] a supporting structure; [0016] a cogeneration device carried
by said supporting structure and comprising: [0017] a) a combustion
engine supplied with fuel; [0018] b) an electric generator driven
by said combustion engine; [0019] c) at least one heat exchanger to
heat a fluid for a thermal appliance using the heat produced by
said combustion engine; [0020] electrical energy storage means to
guarantee the continuity of the electrical power supply during
start-up of said electric generator and during load transients;
characterized in that said electrical energy storage means are
housed in said supporting structure.
[0021] Preferably, said electrical energy storage means are housed
in a base of said supporting structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] In order to better understand the present invention, a
non-limiting preferred embodiment thereof will now be described by
way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a preferred
embodiment of the assembly for generating electrical and thermal
energy according to the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a detail of FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 3 is an exploded view on an enlarged scale of a
battery-holder drawer belonging to the assembly according to the
present invention; and
[0026] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale,
along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0027] In FIG. 1 designated as a whole by number 1 is an assembly
for generating electrical and thermal energy, the latter in the
form of flows of hot fluids (for example water or air), for example
to heat thermal appliances, or cold, for air-conditioning of said
appliances.
[0028] As regards the electrical energy, the assembly 1 has a first
electrical output terminal (not illustrated) which can be connected
directly to electrical appliances and a second electrical output
terminal (not illustrated), which can be connected to an external
electrical power network.
[0029] The assembly 1 comprises a supporting structure 2, which in
turn comprises a base 3 resting on the floor and a frame 4 defining
a compartment 5 having a substantially parallelepiped shape on top
of the base 3.
[0030] The assembly 1 comprises a cogeneration device 10, which is
supplied with fuel, for example natural gas and has components of
its own housed in the compartment 5 and supported by the frame
4.
[0031] The device 10 comprises an internal combustion engine 12
coupled to an alternating-current rotary electric generator 13. The
engine 12 receives the combustion air from an intake line 14 and
the gaseous fuel from a delivery line 15, which has an inlet 16
that can be connected to an external distribution network and is
provided with a compressor 17. The fumes generated by the engine 12
are discharged through an exhaust line 18 that terminates in a
stack 19. The engine 12 is also provided with a liquid cooling
system.
[0032] The device 10 also comprises at least one heat exchanger to
heat a flow of fluid, in particular water, for thermal appliances
using the heat generated by the combustion engine 12. Numbers 21
and 22 indicate, respectively, the inlet and the outlet of a duct
23 that carries the water to be heated for the thermal appliance.
In particular, arranged along the duct 23 there are: a heat
exchanger 24 defined by a radiator coupled to the cooling system of
the engine 12; and a heat exchanger 25 coupled to a portion of the
line 18, in parallel to a bypass portion 26 for the exhaust fumes,
to draw heat from the exhaust fumes.
[0033] The assembly 1 also comprises an electronic converter (not
illustrated), which converts the electrical energy produced by the
generator 13, is housed in a cabinet 27 arranged at the side of the
structure 2, and comprises: [0034] an ac/dc converter connected to
the output of the generator 13; [0035] a dc/ac converter connected,
on one side, to an electrical output terminal (not illustrated) via
a filter and, on the other side, to the output of the ac/dc
converter via a dc link, and [0036] a bi-directional dc/dc
converter to connect the dc link to a plurality of electrical
energy storage modules 28 (FIGS. 2-4) and allow a flow of
electrical energy from the modules 28 to the dc link and vice
versa.
[0037] An electronic unit (not illustrated) is arranged in the
cabinet 27 or in a remote position to control the device 10 and
manage the thermal power and electrical power output.
[0038] According to the invention, the modules 28 are storage
batteries housed in the structure 2, in particular in the base
3.
[0039] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the batteries 28 are housed
in drawers 30 arranged along two rows, which are accessible from
opposite sides of the structure 2. Each drawer 30 comprises a
U-shaped receptacle 31 comprising a horizontal base wall and two
side walls 33 defining a seat 34 engaged by the batteries 28. The
walls 33 are provided with aeration apertures 35 and are coupled to
the base 3 via guideways 36, that allow the drawer 30 to slide
along a horizontal axis 37 to be extracted at least partially from
the base 3.
[0040] The seat 34 is closed at the front and rear by respective
vertical walls 38, 39, which are fixed to the receptacle 31. The
seat 34 is closed at the top by a cover 40, which is removable to
access the seat 34 from above when the drawer 30 has been
extracted.
[0041] The lower surface of the wall 32 is reinforced by two bars
41, which are arranged transversely to the axis 37; the wall 38
carries, in a fixed position, an external handle 42 for moving the
drawer 30 manually; and the wall 39 carries a vertical plate 44,
which is arranged in a fixed position at the bottom of the seat and
supports two electrical connectors 45, which define a positive pole
and, respectively, a negative pole. The batteries 28 of each drawer
30 are connected electrically in series to one another and are
connected to the electrical connectors 45 in a manner that is not
illustrated and not described in detail.
[0042] With reference to FIG. 4, the electrical connectors 45
extend in a cantilevered manner from the plate 44 through an
aperture 46 in the wall 39 outside the seat 34. When the drawer 30
is fully retracted inside the base 3, the electrical connectors 45
are connected to respective electrical contacts 47 provided on a
vertical plate 48 made of an insulating material and arranged in a
fixed position inside the base 3. The electrical contacts 47 are,
in turn, electrically connected to cables 49 that carry the
electrical energy, in a manner that is not illustrated and not
described in detail, towards the side of the structure 2 where the
cabinet 27 is arranged, to enable the electrical connection between
the batteries 28 of the various drawers 30 to the electronic
converter arranged in the cabinet 27.
[0043] When the drawers 30 are extracted, to carry out maintenance
on the assembly 1 or to replace the batteries 28, the electrical
connectors 45 move away from the electrical contacts 47 so that the
electrical connection is automatically disconnected.
[0044] According to an alternative embodiment that is not
illustrated, instead of an electrical connection that is
automatically disconnected, cables are provided between the drawers
30 and the plates 48 and are supported and guided by flexible
tracks, with the possibility of disconnecting the electrical
connection of said cables manually.
[0045] The position of the batteries 28 in the base 3 allows the
overall dimensions available to be optimized without having
high-voltage cables exposed around the structure 2.
[0046] The sliding connection between the drawers 30 and base 3 is
extremely simple to implement and makes maintenance and replacing
the batteries 28 extremely convenient. The drawers 30 can even be
extracted completely from the base 3 and carried elsewhere without
any trouble.
[0047] Lastly, it is clear that modifications and variations may be
made to the assembly 1 described and illustrated herein without
departing from the scope of the present invention, as set forth in
the appended claims.
[0048] In particular, the batteries 28 could be arranged in a part
of the structure 2 other than in the base 3.
* * * * *